Other soccer news in brief
Referee wrong says Ronaldo
CRISTIANO RONALDO has claimed referee Chris Foy was wrong to book him for diving during the English League Cup final. For the second weekend running, Ronaldo was cautioned for hitting the ground, this time under Ledley King’s challenge.“If you see the replay you will see that their player kicked me in the foot,” said Ronaldo. “The referee did not make the right decision.”
Burley plays down referee concerns
SCOTLAND MANAGER George Burley has no concerns about referee Laurent Duhamel officiating this month’s World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands – despite him being banned from top-flight matches in France.
Duhamel is set to referee the crucial clash at the Amsterdam ArenA on March 28th but has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in his homeland.
He has been told to take a break from football by his own association before returning at lower league level after failing to send off two Paris St Germain players, who will now be punished retrospectively.
Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith has revealed he may consider asking Fifa for a different referee but Burley has no problem with Duhamel taking charge of the Group Nine match.
Deduct points is Campbell's call
SOL CAMPBELL has called on football’s authorities to deduct points from clubs whose supporters are found guilty of indecent and racist chanting. The Portsmouth captain said: “I think that they (the game’s authorities) are going to have to do more. The only way you can stop it from happening is by taking points from clubs; then it would definitely stop.”
Guardian Service
Butt sees scary side of run-in
NEWCASTLE MIDFIELDER Nicky Butt sees the scary side of his club’s run-in, on paper the most difficult of all the Premier League relegation contenders.
“Our situation is getting more and more serious as the weeks go by,” he said after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Bolton. “Anyone who is sat in our dressing room thinking we are going to be okay is in danger of getting bitten on the bum.”
Of their 10 remaining games following tomorrow night’s home fixture with Alex Ferguson’s side, which the visitors won 5-1 last season, the Magpies host Arsenal and Chelsea at St James’ Park before travelling to Villa Park on what may be a decisive final day.
ITALY WILL make a bid to host Euro 2016, Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete said yesterday. Italy was beaten in a bid for Euro 2012 by Poland and Ukraine. The country’s hooliganism problem was reported to be partly to blame.
Ireland fears City could end up in the relegation battle
STEPHEN IRELAND last night expressed fear that Manchester City could be dragged into the relegation fight unless they improve their form immediately.
The defeat at West Ham on Sunday was City’s 13th of the season and stretched their wretched away form to 14 without victory. They are at home to Aston Villa tomorrow and another reverse could see Mark Hughes’s side sitting just four points above the relegation zone going into the next league game, at Chelsea.
“It’s so tight in the league at the moment that you can end up anywhere with a win. But with a loss you can drop down and be fighting at the bottom. That is the situation we now find ourselves in,” conceded Ireland. “We need a win to get back on track, and to keep winning on a regular basis, because we haven’t been doing that.”
Guardian Service
Sunderland boss will do it his way
RICKY SBRAGIA does not care if his approach to football management makes him boring if it prevents his team from being too frightened to play.
Reacting to predecessor Roy Keane’s scornful response to suggestions that the players should go to work with smiles on their faces, the 52-year-old Sunderland manager confirmed his intention to do things his own way.
“I want them to go and play without this fear of me being down their necks.
“I can tell them off when I want to tell them off, but I like to tell them off in private. I don’t like to tell them off in front of others and show them up and sometimes lose respect. I prefer to pull them aside and have a chat with them.
“That’s the way I work – and I won’t change it.”
